Codename: Project Nameless
by Will X
Summary: At the start of yet another project, a new guy named James discovers that Wally is secretly a genius. Meanwhile, Alice and Dilbert discover they have a lot more in common then they thought they did.
1. Chapter 1

Dilbert sighed as he sat down in his cubicle. It was going to be a long day: the project kickoff meeting. No doubt his boss would want _him_ to lead the project, which would always be stressful. He remembered the Gruntmaster 6000 project, which took half a year to complete. He had had to deal with a sadistic testing engineer named Bob Bastard, a company-wide cold epidemic that mutated the _hosts_ , and a revolution in the poverty-stricken nation of Elbonia. He sighed again. Long day indeed.

Ten minutes later, he, along with Wally, Alice, Asok, Ted, and some other engineers and one or two guys from marketing sat down in the conference room.

"Thank you all for attending this meeting" their boss began. "The next meeting will be on thursday, two days from now." Dilbert leaned back in his chair, barley surprised. After thirty years working under this man, he was barley surprised that the kickoff meeting had absolutely nothing to do with the project. Most of the other engineers weren't either, but one man, James, refused to be satisfied.

"That wasn't a meeting!" He shouted. Everyone in the room froze. Their boss absolutely _hated_ being contradicted. Time seemed to slow down as he turned to face James. "It wasn't a meeting?" Everyone in the room gave a sigh of relief. Their boss was to confused to be angry. "Well you can discuss it with Wally, your'e being moved to his cubicle." Everyone turned to face James. He had been given the worst punishment possible: an indefinite period of time with _Wally_!

"Why do I get the feeling that was supposed to be insulting?" Wally muttered under his breath to Dilbert. Dilbert sighed again. Wally had long been slightly clueless to the fact that time spent with him was a punishment.

"He thinks James could benefit from your mentorship?" Dilbert suggested to his friend, not wishing to hurt his feelings.

"He really is dumb then." Wally replied, before moving off to annihilate the contents of the snack bar. Dilbert sighed for the fourth time that day.

* * *

James stepped tentatively into Wally's cubicle, one foot barely inside. He sniffed the air. It smelled like a mixture of...chlorine and wet dog? How the hell was that even possible. He spotted Wally bent over a small computer.

"I thought you didn't work."

Wally jumped a little. "Oh, hey." he said, just noticing James. "I have to bang out a really great project every two years, just to keep up the status quo. I give our Pointy-Haired boss one really, really great product, Dilbert takes all the credit so none know of my genius, and I spend the rest of my time relaxing. This baby" he gestured towards the machine "is a touchscreen atom merger. It'll make this company billions."

James was dumbfounded. "But..but that would take a _team_ of engineers _months_ to complete! You just spend all your time avoiding work."

Wally frowned. "I usually think up things like that three or four times a day." James stepped backwards, shocked. Three or four times a _day?_ The man's a genius, he thought to himself.

"Er.. I should probably put my stuff down..somewhere?" Literally every inch of desk space was covered in papers, coffee stains, coffee spills, and messy binders. "Is it alright with you if I sweep some of the stuff aside to make space for my stuff?" Wally grunted. James swept aside some binders and what looked like a dead rat and dropped his stuff down. "I'll uh..go get my chair." Wally nodded before turning to his computer, which was open to a porn site. James sighed. It was going to be a looong life.

* * *

"Why can't we ever get anything done on the first meeting?" Dilbert was asking, to an equally annoyed Alice and Asok. "We walked in there, spent ten minutes getting organized, and then he thanks us for attending and tells us when the next meeting is?"

"In my hometown" Asok said "Project kickoff meetings, as a law, had to last at least twenty minutes."

"That should be the law here." Alice grumbled as the turned the corner. There, they saw, much to there shock, Wally, waving his arms about angrily, and completely without coffee. In living memory, Wally had never waved his arms about _or_ been without coffee. All three of them stood there shocked, staring at this new Wally. Finally, he spoke.

"He-it-desk-it!" He shouted, making less sense then usual. Dilbert arched an eyebrow, and Wally calmed down.

"That new guy-James!-has rearranged my desk!" Wally shouted. This angered his co-workers, as Wally's desk contained internal memos detailing things involving them that they didn't want coming to light. "He came in and shoved a bunch of stuff aside to make room for _his_ stuff. Then, I go to get coffee, and he's rearranged the whole thing into neat, alphabetized rows!"

"But those documents detail dozens of things that could be used against us if they ever come to light!" Alice shouted, her verbal panic mirroring that of Asok and Dilbert's silent panic.

"That's not the half of it." Wally continued. "I keep documents for the Elbonian Government in there. It would't take much digging to find those." Dilbert arched his eyebrow again, but decided against asking _why_ Wally kept Elbonian Government documents on his desk.

"The solution is simple." Alice said. "We need to form a posse to show James not to mess with Wally's desk."

"We're forming a posse to help _Wally?_ " Asok asked.

"Hey, there are at least three memos in there that you wouldn't want to come to light." Wally reminded him, and Asok nodded. "Meet me near the copy room with the most dangerous weapon you can find." Wally said, and his co-workers nodded.

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER ONE**


	2. A boss departed

"I'm sorry, what?" James asked. The other engineers were standing in Wally's cubicle glaring at him. Alice had rolled up her sleeves and was baring her fists, Dilbert had a leaky pen that he was using to spray ink onto James' shirt, Wally had a...stick? And Asok was holding a...dead squirrel. And they were all glaring at him. Okay. This was strange.

"You heard us!" Wally repeated. "Put all the stuff back the way it was." The other engineers nodded.

"Okay.." James responded slowly, taking careful steps not to inflame them. "I..am a bit of a neat freak. I just can't live in a cubi-WOULD YOU STOP THAT?" The last part was directed at Dilbert and his leaky pen. Dilbert stopped. "As I was saying, I can't work in a cubicle covered in papers. I, just... can't, um..." Alice was rolling her sleeves up and glaring at him, Wally was smirking. Not a good sign. An engineer named Ted had mentioned that Alice had something called the Fists of Death. "OKAY!" he yelped. "I'll put everything back the way it was!" He then hurried to mess up all the papers and binders he had so carefully put together. The posse of engineers relaxed. Wally walked over to the pile and began rearranging things, picking up papers at random, and stuffing them into binders, then throwing the binders on the the other engineer's confused glances, he explained.

"I have my own private organization system." They nodded, and the posse left the cubicle. "Don't ever do something like that again. Ever." Wally cautioned James. James nodded. "Now, If you'll excuse me, I haven't had coffee in.." he checked his watch. "Ten minutes. New record." He left for the break room. James' shoulders relaxed, and he collapsed, shaking on the floor of their shared cubicle.

* * *

The boss groaned. He hated today. He hated today with a passion. It was Wally's semi-annual performance review. He struggled to put on the face of a leader, which for him meant looking like he was using the toilet. This would disturb most people, but then again, Wally was not most people. He looked up as Wally entered the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Wally!" The boss shouted, acting eager. "You..are Wally.., right?" Wally nodded. "Anyway, I needed to talk to you about...something related to the work that you theoretically do."

"Theoretically." Wally said. "That's it. Nothing more. Much less." THe boss arched an eyebrow, but said nothing and picked up Wally's file.

"It says here your primary objectives involve...nothing!" He said. "Absolutely nothing! There's nothing here but a bunch of awards I've mistakenly given you over the years, and a photo of you!"

"There's a photo of me?" asked Wally. "I try to avoid cameras."

"NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! NOTH-Oh, wait, there's a...hide. A tanned Elbonian Mouse hide. In your employee file." They were both silent for a minute as they contemplated this. "Why don't you just go." the boss said. "I'll just give you the usual 'good' rating, huh?" Wally nodded, still stunned about the fact that there was a photo of him.

After the door shut behind Wally, the boss started crying. Thank god today only came once a year.

* * *

"And then he found an Elbonian mouse hide." Wally finished. They were in the break room having lunch. Alice was eating at a restaurant, and Dilbert was giving a presentation to a group of marketing executives, leaving just Tina, Wally, Asok, and James.

"My uncle found a tanned mouse hide in his lunch once." Asok commented. "It was poisoned, and he died three days later."

"Are you saying our Boss is going to die in three days?"

"No, the hide in my uncle's lunch was from a Canadian mouse, not an Elbonian one."

"Why is there even a mouse hide in your folder?" asked a confused James. Wally laughed. It was a strange sound.

"Oh, yeah," he explained. "I forgot to tell you; I bribed the janitor to put it there for me." There was a stunned silence as everyone in the room processed this information.

"Are you saying.." began Tina "That you used _your own_ money to pay off the janitor to put an Elbonian mouse hide _inside_ your employee file, just to confuse our small-minded boss so badly that he would cancel your annual performance review?"

"And go home, most likely to contemplate his life." Said Asok, pointing out the window to the parking lot. The other four rushed to the window. The Pointy-Haired Boss, escorted by two other managers and a security guard, was walking to his car. He got in and drove out of the paring lot faster then allowed. The security guard walked back inside, but the other managers exchanged worried looks before following him.

"Did he.." asked Tina after a long silence "Just LEAVE WORK EARLY?!" The engineers nodded. "HE NEVER DOES THAT!" The Tech Writer continued. "HE..HE..HE MAKES SURE WE'RE ALL DONE BEFORE HE LEAVES! IT'S THE ONLY REMOTELY RESPONSIBLE THING HE'S DONE SINCE HE BECAME THE DIRECTOR OF THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT!" The engineers nodded. "Do you.." she said in a calmer tone "know what that means?" The engineers nodded. "

"WE CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL WE WANT!" All five shouted.

"At least until Dilbert and Alice get back." muttered Wally as the four engineers and the tech writer left the break room.

* * *

 **Please favorite and review. Just to clarify: when Tina says something, and it is followed by "** The engineers nodded." **its _not_ a typo that there's no 'other' in between 'the' and 'engineers' because Tina is a Tech Writer working for the engineering department. In a twist of irony, she seems to be becoming the leader of this small coalition of engineers (not including Dilbert and Alice). **


	3. The Rise of James the Dark

"So how was the meeting?" Alice asked Dilbert. The two of them were walking back to their department.

"Oh, it was alright." he replied. "I think I convinced the Director of Marketing to hold back on the press release for this new product."

"And just _how_ did you convince a marketing executive to listen to an engineer?"

"I threatened to send Wally to explain the engineering behind the product."

"Ah." The director of marketing's hatred of Wally was well-known. It had started roughly ten years previously, when, the PHB, in a bout of anger, had sent Wally as an "engineering resource". Wally had spent three days was make the executive's life hell, and he had to spend two months in an institution afterwards. He now started shaking every time someone mentioned Wally's name.

"Anyway," Dilbert continued, "I think it went pretty well overall, considerin-GAHHH!" The duo stopped. In front of them was a scene best described by the word 'huge workplace orgy'. Wally had taken off his shirt and was lying in a pool of coffee on the floor. Asok appeared to have taken control of the surrounding cubicles, and had turned them into a massive laboratory. Carol was assisting Tina in moving into the boss's office, while James appeared to be fielding calls. A refreshment table was set up, and some music was playing.

"Yes?" James answered one call in an accent. "How may me help you, American bitch-pig?"

"Uh, yeah." said the unsuspecting caller. "I'm uh, trying to reach the director of engineering?"

"You reach East Franco-Ophelian Embassy, you swine! You anger our country! We declare war, kill many!"

"Oh, shit!" said the voice on the other end of the phone. "I-I'm so, so sorry! Please don't! I'll make it up to you! I'll uh, I'll-" BEEP! James hung up the phone. He, Carol, and Tina laughed. The phone rang again.

"Hello, I'm uh looking for the director of engineering." a new voice said. "Is he there?"

"Sorry." James replied calmly. "He left a few hours ago. Needed a break, I think."

"Thanks anyway." said the voice. James hung up.

"Needed a break?" Dilbert asked. The party stopped as every employee froze. James laughed nervously. Wally rolled over and groaned, now face down in the puddle of coffee.

"Never mind." muttered Alice as she and Dilbert headed back to their cubicles. "At least we'll have a chance to get some work done, for once."

"Hear, hear." agreed Dilbert.

* * *

"So," said Tina. "Welcome to the meeting." It was two days later. The boss had still not returned, and news of his vacation had not made it to Human Resources, meaning that the engineers, Tina, and Carol had been left to their own devices. They decided to put Tina in the boss' office, thinking that she would leave the engineers to their own devices. She had more or less done that, although there was a bit more rigour in their daily schedule.

She had declared that the next project meeting would be earlier than their boss' date, and so there they were, sitting in the meeting room.

"Would anyone like to share any ideas for the product?" Tina asked. The room was silent. "Anyone? Anyone at all?" None spoke.

Wally raised his hand slowly. " I predict the boss will arrive soon." Tina's brow furrowed. "He will arrive in roughly..ten..nine….eight..." Tina began looking around wildly. "Six..five…"

"Oh no." Carol said quietly.

"Three..two.." Wally continued. "One." The door opened, and the boss stepped into the room. The room temperature lowered thirteen degrees, and the hair on the back of everyone's neck stood up.

"How'd you guess?" a bewildered James whispered to Wally. The boss looked confused, as though he wasn't supposed to be there.

"I analysed the three previous cases of him leaving work due to stress caused by me." Wally replied. "Then I cross-referenced all cases of him leaving work. Then, I analyzed what time he usually comes back to work after a sick day. It all pointed to right about now: 10:54." James nodded, although he was still confused.

"Sir!" Tina said nervously. "Welcome back! We have begun work early on our new flagship project!" The boss grunted, and scratched his head. "How was your vacation?" He grunted. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Grunt."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Grunt."

"Coffee?"

"Grunt."

"Donut?"

"Grunt."

"The head of our intern?"

"HEY!" said Asok.

"Grunt." said the boss. Tina chuckled nervously, slowly moving towards the door.

"Anything?" she said. "Anything...at all?"

"Ah, well.." he began, finally speaking. "Perhaps, you could um remind me where my-err _escort_ me to my desk. Perhaps on the way we can..um...revitalize the strategizing process for um revitalizing strategizing processes?"

"Of course, sir. _Great_ idea." said Tina, ever the sycophant. "Allow me to escort you to your office…."

* * *

James returned to his and Wally's shared cubicle. Much to his relief it was empty. He sat down on a crate, then got up quickly once he realized it was labeled " **Grenades** ". He shook his fist at his absent cubicle-mate. Carefully, he opened the lid. instead of explosives, he instead found crumpled-up blueprints for something. Curious, he reached inside, and grabbed them. Smoothing them out, he read the label;

"The Gruntmaster 6001"

Shocked, James fell down into his chair. He was new to this company, only two weeks, but within three days every new employee heard the tale of the original Gruntmaster 6000. Once the company's flagship product and Dilbert's pride and joy, the project stagnated due to poor funding, heavy bureaucratic oversight, and the fact that Dilbert's himself had intervened against its testing. When asked why, Dilbert had apparently giving vague and cryptic responses, and even hinted at a possible apocalyptic scenario should the machine ever be turned on. The closest he had ever come to explaining his actions was a comment he had made in a drunken stupor at a holiday office party six years prior to James' arrival. According to Asok, he had said;

" _You know..._ urp _..we neva shoulda built that..Gruntmashter 6000.._ belch _. It wash to dangeroush. If we'd ever turned it on…_ urp _. The graviton generator almost created a…"_

At that point he had apparently passed out, spilling spiked punch all down the front or Asok's shirt in the process. What had been interesting, Asok had noted, that was while Dilbert's comments for the most part were in a theoretical tense, using "should've" and "if we'd ever" . The only exception to this was the last remark, which was in the past tense.

" _This implied that Dilbert had lived through a scenario in which the graviton generator malfunctioned."_ Asok had said.

" _The graviton generator malfunctioned?"_ Had been James's dumb reply. " _That sounds dangerous."_

" _No, he only lived through_ a scenario _where the graviton generator malfunctioned. It is possible he used the results of this malfunction to travel back in time and prevent the accident from ever occurring."_

When James had pressed Ask as to what he meant, the intern would say no more.

With all that, Wally had apparently taken the designs and modified them. Looking at the blueprints, it dawned on James what Wally had done;

He had taken the old model of the Graviton Generator, and refined it, made it safer. Whoever brought this to the boss' attention could stand to make millions in the company. As he looked up from the paper, an evil grin began to form on James' face.

* * *

 **Wow, James! Really channeling Ed Dillenger there! (Google it.)**

 **Also, I'm really sorry how late this chapter is. I realize I last updated this story in October. I'll try to better this time around.**


	4. A dangerous dinner: Part One

By the end of the day, Dilbert had a headache. He was barely able to avoid his boss as he snuck out of the building, not wishing to be stopped and encouraged (read: forced) to work unpaid overtime.

He had a close call in the parking lot when his car nearly didn't start, and his boss walked out to yell at another engineer for leaving too early, but after half a minute tinkering under the hood, he finally got his little machine puttering again.

Driving home in the high levels of traffic was such a nerve-wracking experience that Dilbert grouchily decided to trick Wally into building a machine that would erase his memories of the experience.

When he finally pulled into the driveway, he ran over some sort of tack, and popped a tire. Swearing loudly, he stubbed his toe getting out of the car, which only served to foul his already bad mood even further.

Throwing the door open, Dilbert stormed into the house, briefcase in hand.

"You will not believe the day I have had!" he announced to his friend, the beagle Dogbert.

Dogbert sighed.

"Let's go over the part where I didn't say that I cared about your miserable life."

This final act of insubordination pushed Dilbert over the edge.

"Now you listen to ME, Dogbert." he shouted, picking up his longtime companion by the collar. "I have taken so much disrespect from you over the decades. So much!"

For the first time in ten years, Dogbert appeared visibly panicked. His ears flew up, and his glasses nearly fell off.

"R-RATBERT?" he shouted. "Can you come over here and help me, please?" The loyal rodent began to go over to assist his friend, but stopped in his tracks when Dilbert's head snapped around.

"You!" he snarled. "You aren't doing a thing. I'm warning you, stay right there. I won't hesitate to sell you back to the lab you escaped from." Ratbert quivered at the thought.

"M-may I ask why the sudden aggressiveness?" Dogbert stuttered, an odd move for him.

"I am tired of the way you treat me day after day, month after month, year after YEAR!"

"What about all those times I've saved your life?" Dogbert said. "That time when you were held hostage by Marketing? The time when you were set to be executed in Elbonia? The time when your company offended that tribe of devil beavers and you were brought in to mediate but ended up set to be sacrificed to Ba'al the Soul Eater?"

 _"Window drescsing!_ " Dilbert snarled. "Every day I come home and-"

He was interrupted as the phone rang. Dropping Dogbert, he walked over and picked it up.

"Hello?" he said, perhaps a bit to gruffly.

"Dilbert!" Alice's harsh voice cut through the static. He sounded calm and happy compared to her.

"Hello, Alice."

"Dilbert, we both know the project is stalled now that the Boss has returned."

"Not like there was anything to stall." Dilbert mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. What's your point?"

"I was thinking the two of us should begin working together outside of work to see this thing past the idea phase."

"Why, exactly?" asked Dilbert, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"You'll see."

Dilbert sighed and decided to change the subject.

"So when do you want to start meeting?"

"I was thinking, tonight...maybe? As long as you don't have any plans, of course."

"I'm an engineer at Path-E-Tech Management, Alice. What idea could possibly possess you to make you think I have any sort of plans?"

"True enough." she replied. "So where do you want to meet?"

Dilbert almost smiled, something he hadn't done in years.

"I think I know an Italian restaurant on the corner of Thirty-Fourth and Main...nice quiet atmosphere, good food. I think it's a favorite coffee hangout of Wally's. Perfect for a work-related evening outing."

Dilbert nearly facepalmed at his linguistic awkwardness. Work-related evening outing? He was better than that.

"I'll see you there in an hour. No, make it two. And make sure to bring a couple of ideas." The phone clicked as Alice hung up. Putting down the handset, Dilbert turned to find Dogbert staring at him. He was smirking.

"So you've got a date." he said.

"It's not a date! Just a...work-related evening outing."

"Trust me. Calling it a date will give the impression that you might have a social life. But go get ready. We'll settle this matter of your...inadequacies with my particular breed of help when you return."

"Is that really such a major issue that it necessitates further discussion after, at minimum, three-and-a-half hours? I was well within my rights to be angry."

"And I will be well within my rights to potentially sue you for animal abuse. Now shoo, and go get ready for your date."

* * *

 **SHODDY SMITHY'S BAR,**

 **#2 34th Avenue ,**

 **Right next to the Corner of Thirty-fourth and Main.**

 **1 Hour Later**

"Hello, Sir." James said nervously. His boss scowled. "May I lead you to our seats?" The boss' frown hardened.

"I hope it's a booth!" he said harshly, both startling and confusing James. "I always liked booths," he continued, his tone softening. "Oh, when I was a child, my father would meet his friends at a bar, and he would take me along, and we would sit in a both and play the most wonderful game!"

"Oh," James said. "What sort of game?" The boss frowned, as if he was trying to remember something.

"I just can't seem to remember the darned thing fully," he muttered, hardly even taking to James anymore. "I know it involved cards… and they said that word 'Poker' a lot."

"Was it called 'Poker', sir?" James supplied.

"Yes, that was it." the Boss said.

"I'll go secure us a booth." James said.

"Ah good old Plonker." the boss continued, unaware that both James had moved away, and he had already forgotten the name of the card game again. "I always loved that Pinker." Shortly thereafter, James reappeared, and led the Boss to a secluded four-person booth in the corner.

"So, sir." James said once their drinks had arrived. "Tell me, what do you think of the new project."

"Oh, you know." the Boss said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's a project. If it looks like it might work, we'll have Marketing over-promote it to the point people actually want it, before an executive accidentally releases details that make people want to buy from our competitors." James frowned.

"Then how do we make any money."

"Oh, you know, tricking our dumb customers in prepaying for alleged upgrades to products they don't even own."

"Okay." James said, for lack of anything else to say. He reached for the bottle of cheap wine and poured more in the Boss' glass. "Have another drink."

"Don't..mind if I do." the boss said, already reaching for his glass.

* * *

 **CHIPPY'S 24-HOUR ESPRESSO BAR**

 **#2 Main Street.**

 **Right next to the Corner of Thirty-fourth and Main.**

UWally slid into his seat at the counter.

"Gimmie my usual, Alejandro." he said gruffly to the clerk.

"One caramel espresso with a shot of vodka comin' up, hermano."

Wally relaxed. It was after six. He was at his favorite coffee bar. James was away from the cubicle. The boss was nowhere near him. Everything was going to be fine.

* * *

 **1 MORE HOUR LATEER,**

 **Gli ingegneri Ristorante** ,

 **Corner of 34th and Main**

Dilbert nervously sat down at his seat. It wasn't a nervousness like his usual date anxiety, rather he was afraid of what Alice might do to him if something went wrong.

Her infamous "Fists of Death" weren't called such for naught.

A waiter approached him, pouring water. When pressed to order, Dilbert replied that there was someone else coming, and sent the waiter away with instructions to return once Alice arrived.

He sipped his water nervously. His hand shook, and the water nearly spilled. He set the glass down. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out. It was from Alice.

 _im almost there._

Dilbert sighed nervously again.

* * *

"So…" the boss said, slightly drunk, "why did yoush drag me here and pay for me drinksh, James? Not kindnessh, I take it? I'm shmarter than I let on at work, you know."

By which you mean you actually know how to pick lint out of your belly button. James thought. But he was smart enough to keep his sentiments to himself. His first beer was still half-full, while the Pointy-Haired Boss was two-thirds of the way through his fourth.

"I have my reasons."

"Keeping it close to the chest, are we?" James smiled insincerely.

"I have a proposition to make."

"Oh?"

James gritted his teeth. He had to play it slow, and time it just right. If he waited too long, the boss would be too drunk to remember how to authorize personnel transfers. If he started too soon, the boss would be suspicious at a low-level employee giving him ideas.

The boss finished slurping his wine, and the glass dropped out of his hands, rolling across the table. James smiled. Perfect. Time to launch.

"Sir, I think we should transfer Wally to our research facility in Siberia."

* * *

 **Another chapter done. I'm really surprised with the response this story is getting.**

 **On a side note, I like the idea of Wally spiking his coffee with alcohol.**


	5. A dangerous dinner: Part Two

**To my three extremist fans;**

 **Thank you for receiving my message I left on my profile. I'm glad you understand. I do see where you're worried; it had been a bit long between updates. Also, I aprreciate your support , but please try to limit yourselves to _one or two_ reviews per chapter. Thanks.**

* * *

"You won't believe what's going on at booth seven!" the younger waiter said to the chief bartender.

"I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling I might just believe it." the bartender grumbled.

"This one fella, a young guy, he keeps ordering more wine, but not drinking _any_ of it! He just keeps giving it to another guy, a large dumb one, sitting across from him."

"And let me guess, they're both wearing suit and the young one refers to the big one as 'Sir', while the big one is rambling on and on?" The young waiter gaped. "If you look now, I bet the young one is either getting the big one to sign papers or do something on tablet computer." The waiter popped his head around the corner, and saw that the younger man was indeed offering a tablet to the fat one.

"How…?"

"When you've been a bartender as long as I have, you begin to see a lot of the same things over and over again. They go over strange occurrences in Bartender's School."

"There's a school for bartenders?"

"Yeah, it's not too far from here. The instructor's a little dog with glasses."

"I see."

* * *

"And...done.." the Pointy-Haired Boss muttered, digitally signing his name to the personnel transfer, before gulping down another bottle of wine. He collapsed into a pool of his own spittle, unconsciously singing some song. James, paying the tab with a couple dozen ones from the boss' wallet, began to slip away.

"Asok, and * _snore*_...heroes." the boss muttered . "Wally * _snore_ * rich. Asok..James...portal. Explosion...James ..defeat." James stiffened, and whirled on his stupor-ed superior.

" _What?_ " he snarled, nearly drawing his knife. The boss remained silent, alternating between his snoring and his singing. James remembered something else Asok had told him.

" _Shortly before Dilbert sabotaged the Gruntmaster, an advertisement was filmed during which the boss hit his head. Ever since, he's talked in his sleep. Sometimes, the rumors say, he predicts the future."_

If that was true, Asok just might stop James' plans. James scowled. That naive little intern was annoying as hell, but he was damn useful too.

He knew practically _everything_ about the employees and their abilities, as well as the history of the company.

So if James could turn or trick the intern in serving his agenda, then he would possibly not only prevent the boss' prophecy. But he needed assurances.

"Here's a fiver to make sure the big guy over there wakes up thinking he came here alone." Jame said, leaving a bill on the counter next to the bartender. "G'night, Smithy."

"Goodnight, James."

* * *

"I'm not going to apologize for being late." Alice said gruffly. Dilbert arched an eyebrow.

"I...I wasn't expecting you to."

"Good." she snapped. Dilbert got up to pull out her seat, but Alice shot him a look, and the engineer sat back down.

"So, what do you recommend?"

"I've never been here before. I just know it's near a coffee bar that Wally likes to frequent."

"I see. So why not one we usually have lunch meetings at for work at?"

"Because the boss puts you in charge planing of those." she frowned.

"So?"

"So, you usually just pick one of _your_ favorite restaurants,"

"Is that a problem?"

"You believe tipping is optional, Alice. Every single waiter on the east side of the city either wants to kill you or has already _been killed_ trying." Dilbert explained. Alice glared at him.

* * *

The date, sorry, _work-related evening outing_ , went from bad to worse following that. Alice appeared to be mildly impressed by Dilbert's designs, but her mood soured when the food arrived, worsened when the waiter announced that the kitchen had run out of dessert, and reached an all-time low when Dilbert hesitated to pick up the check.

In all fairness, Dilbert had no idea what to do in terms of the bill. Proper date etiquette stated that it was the man's job to pick up the bill, but then again, as Dilbert and Alice had both stated (the former to Dogbert, and the latter once every other minute during the dinner), they were _not_ on a date. And besides, that particular rule of chivalry had long been denounced as sexist.

So to Dilbert's mind, it seemed, given that; a. It was _not_ a date, and b. The man always paying was considered a sexist idea, and Alice despised sexism. But Alice was for some reason irritated by Dilbert's brief refusal to pay. So, after that final mishap, the two engineers stood alone on the sidewalk.

"Well," Alice said after Dilbert had flagged down a cab. "I guess I'll see you next time."

"Or at work," Dilbert said. "Unless you're planning to take a sick day, or-"

Suddenly, Alice rushed towards him, wrapped her arms around his body and kissed him.

To his surprise, Dilbert kissed back, wrapping his arms around her body.

Wally, drunk on vodka and shaking from the espresso, stumbled out of his coffee hangout and witnessed the exchange.

He promptly turned right around, on the very logical basis that getting involved would not turn out well for him.

Wally would spend the next morning taking a sick day for the simple reason that he needed time to decide wether it had been an alcohol-induced hallucination or simply a dream.

From the other side came a still-sober James, who paused and immediately began thinking of ways that he could turn this to his advantage.

He too, promptly turned himself around on the very logical basis that should he be spotted near where the unconscious boss would later be found, snoring outside a closed bar, would prove to be destructive to his plans.

* * *

"Uh-huh." Dogbert said smugly, slowly wagging his stubby tail. "I know that look."

"Shut up." Dilbert growled.

"You made out with Alice, didn't you?"

"Shut _up_."

"Your tie is flat. That only happens when you're aroused. And no spaghetti sauce or anything around your mouth. You never use the napkin to wipe, so therefore I could infer Alice likely left a smear of lipstick there, and you wiped it off, no doubt to keep me from finding out."

Dilbert glared at his friend, but did not deny Dogbert's assumption.

"Uh-huh." Dogbert said, turning back to his newspaper. "Like I said, I know that look."

* * *

The room was cold. Dark, too.

James had followed the book's final instructions to the letter, and standing in the middle of the circle, he chanted the ancient summoning.

Each of the smaller circles James had drawn flashed red. A fireball interrupted in front of the engineer's face, and slowly a figure emerged.

He was frowning, with a face not dissimilar to that of the Pointy-Haired Boss. He was human, or _was_ human, and dressed in a red suit with real horns protruding from his head. A tail protruded from his backside, and ended in a knobby lump. He was wearing a cape that seemed to be both there and not, and holding a giant spoon.

"Whadda you want?" Phil, the Prince of Insufficient Light, snapped.

* * *

 **A new player enters the story; the PHB's semi-estranged brother Phil!**

 **For those of you who don't know, Phil the Prince of Insufficent light is a character who has been a fixture of Dilbert since the earliest days of the strip. He rules "Heck", a dimension tasked with handling minor sins. Rather than hold the souls of these people for all eternity, Phil simply visits the committers of said misdemeanors and 'darns' them, which usually involves some form of mild psychological or emotional torture. Other times, he is ineffective and agrees with the person's reason for doing said minor sin. An iconic feature of Phil is his "pitchspoon" a counterpart to Satan's pitchfork.  
**

 **Scott Adams only brings Phil into the strip for four or five strips at a time, forming a minor story arc. Then Phil will disappear for several months and by the time the next arc rolls around, many people have forgotten who he is.  
**

 **Scott himself often forgets how to _draw_ Phil, which has produced several different costumes over the years. The most common appearance is what was described above; red onsie/jumpsuit covering everything but face, pitchspoon, horns, and knobby tail. Thhe cape, whcih I belive said was "**both there and not **", is something that is occasionally on Phil's back and occasionally not, thus James' confusion as to its existence.**

 **Also, you may be wondering what that stuff with the boss predicting the future was about. In the final episode of the first season of the Dilbert TV show, the boss falls off of a chair. Following that, every time he dozes off, he talks in his sleep. This alternates between him singing showtunes and making prophecies like the one above.**

 **To my American readers, I hope you had a happy fourth.**

 **See you guys next time.**


	6. Path to Power

**I'm aware that this chapter is late. However, some stuff in came up, and i had to put my writing away for most of August. Now that the year's started and I'm back into a routine, I hope to be more regular in updates.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Work for the next few days held a quiet, tense atmosphere.

Tense for Dilbert and Alice, because of what had happened between them. They were slightly avoiding each other, in fact. It was awkward between the two.

Tense for James, because he had set his plans in motion, and it was too late to turn back now.

Tense for Tina, because the boss was possibly mad at her for taking initiative in his absence.

Tense for the boss, because he had woken up in a strange bar, and had no recollection of how he arrived there. The staff had been less than forthcoming in explaining his presence, and more than forthcoming it shoving him out the door.

Tense for Wally, arriving after his 'sick day', partly because he had witnessed Dilbert and Alice's...ahem... _exchange_ that night, and partly because something just _felt_ wrong. He was sure sure of it. The old engineer had developed a knack for sensing things over the years.

So naturally, by the third day of this, the boss called a meeting.

* * *

"I'm glad you all could make it to this meeting." the Boss announced.

"It's _mandatory_." Dilbert growled. "We have to be here!"

"Now, now, Dilbert," he began in a lecturing tone, "Our company has a policy of... _hem_ …'diversity', and that comment sounded _sexist_! Remember, Alice, Tina, and Carol are here too. The meeting isn't just mandatory, it's also _**wo**_ _mandatory_!"

"That's sexist, I'm just not sure how yet." Alice grumbled.

"So, does anyone have any ideas that they wish to get off their chest?" the boss continued, ignoring Alice's complaints. "Tina, how about you?"

Tina gave a squeak that a sounded not unlike a dog whose tail had just been stepped on.

"I-love-everything-you-say-sir-you-are-a-god-please-don't-fire-me-please-don't-fire-me!" she said quickly, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"What a great idea!" The boss shouted jovially. "Dilbert, get to work on the 'Please-don't-fire-me!' right away!"

Dilbert scowled. "And what would that be?" he snapped. "A recording saying 'Please don't fire me!' that a manager could play during performance reviews to save the employee breath, because a _breathing_ too much _air_ is like _stealing from the company_?" The boss beamed.

"Oh, Dilbert, I always knew you would have a great idea someday!"

Dilbert opened his mouth to protest, but no sound came out and he simply just shut it again, realizing that, as always, nothing he could say would stop the boss.

"Alice.." the. Boss continued. "I want you to write all that down, got it?"

"Wouldn't that be your secretary's job?" Alice asked. All eyes turned to Carol.

* * *

 **Three minutes earlier, before the meeting.**

" _Carol," the boss said, "I want you to take notes at the meeting today."_

" _Make me do it, and I'll never remind you what your phone passcode is again."_

* * *

 **Present day, err...** _ **minute.**_

"Well…" the PHB said his hands shaking nervously. Carol glared at him and waved about _his_ phone in a threatening matter. He coughed, and did not reply.

"Well, of course you ask a _woman_ to do it for you!" Alice shouted. "Because only a woman is _dumb enough_ in your eyes to be a secretary! I tell you-"

The boss ignored her.

"Well, James, you lazy freeloader!" he shouted, already forgetting the events of the past minute. "You haven't said anything yet!"

"I suppose I haven't." James responded calmly. Dilbert looked over at the younger man, confused by his calm and smug attitude. _Almost as though he was planning something._

"Why you-! Oh, um, yes! You haven't." the boss responded, perplexed by the employee's apparent indifference to his random accusations. "So, you have any of those ideas you engineers have. Y'know, the uh, idea kind?"

"Yes, sir.'' James paused for a moment. "Do you remember the failed 'Gruntmaster Project'?"

A collective gasp issued from around the room and the appropriate reactions were quick to follow; Dilbert and Alice locked eye contact in equal levels of surprise, Asok's jaw dropped to the floor, Loud Howard shouted in some sort of panic, Tina nearly choked on the donut she was consuming, Ted gave a rare glance up at whoever was speaking, and even Wally sprayed coffee. James smirked, winking at Asok.

Hurriedly grabbing his phone, Dilbert did the first thing that came to mind and texted Dogbert.

" _find info on James Sneathern. wrks at pth-e-tech"_

A few seconds later, the beagle replied.

" _i m still mad at you._ "

Dilbert gritted his teeth, and typed back a response.

" _I'll give u all but ONE of my pillow tonight"_

By now, James was explaining his alleged refinements to the design, _Dilbert's_ design, much to the collective horror of the other engineers. Dogbert's reply appeared on the screen.

" _throw in more coffee this wknd and we have deal."_

" _Fine!"_

Dilbert's attention returned to the meeting.

"...and so, I have removed all of _Dilbert's_ unsafe design flaws that would've likely caused the destruction of everything we know and hate."

The boss was nodding.

"Only one question," the boss said. James gave a ' _go on'_ gesture.

"When can I buy one?" He cheered, clearly expecting his employees to enthusiastically join in. When no one did, he grunted and Ted the Generic Guy gave an unmotivated;

"Hooray?"

The boss pouted, and mumbled that the meeting was concluded. Everyone got up to leave.

* * *

"Just who in the hell do you think you are?" the voice said. James turned.

He was in his half of the shared cubicle, organizing paperwork. Wally, Dilbert, and Alice were standing there.

At first, he wasn't sure who said it, but then realized something crucial; _He didn't give a damn._

"The gang's all here." he remarked smugly. "Though you're missing Intern, Photocopy, Screamer, and Peanut Brittle."

"Their names are Asok, Ted, Loud Howard, and Tina." Alice growled. James shrugged.

"Not that I care." he remarked. "Whadda ya want?"

"Where did you find that design?" Dilbert demanded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes you do." Wally said. James' eyes narrowed. In the week this far he had spent with the waste of cubicle space, he had only seen Wally remotely motivated when the disorganization was threatened. He mentally frowned. _Was the redesigned Gruntmaster the reason Wally's cubicle was so carefully kept in a perpetual state of mess? To keep it and other such things from coming to light?_

"I really don't."

Now it was Dilbert's turn to step forwards.

"Listen, you. The Gruntmaster was my-"

"It's against Company Policy to date other employees, is it not?" James warned, standing up. No one replied.

"And besides, Dilbert, wasn't the Dupey your baby?" he asked, giving Dilbert a condescending pat on the shoulder, before walking out of the cubicle.

Alice moved to punch James, but Dilbert stopped her.

"It's not worth it." he muttered. Alice looked like she was about to argue, but shrugged.

Meanwhile, Wally was bent down an all hands and knees, and was digging through piles of papers and empty coffee mugs.

"What are you doing?" Alice

The older man grunted, brought up his head to reply, banged his head on a table, and swore loudly.

"That little bastard _stole_ my file!" he announced.

"Which one?" demanded Alice. "You have thousands! Literally!"

"My upgraded designs for the Gruntmaster." Wally replied. "They were meant to be a gift for Dilbert that I'd 'forget' to give him, but the little bastard stole them!"

A still silence hung in the air. Each pondered this revelation. The trio of engineers glanced at each other, and the gist was clear.

Wally would not do _nothing_ , but rather this was urgent enough that he would do _next to_ nothing.

And Dilbert and Alice would actively attempt to stop James.

* * *

Path-E-Tech Management had very recently prohibited its Executives from patronizing low-level establishments such as Smithy's Bar (for some reason or another). Unfortunately, visiting such establishments was a particular vice of the Pointy-Haired Boss, one he had hoped would never be discovered.

He himself was not sure why he bothered to do something so... _below_ him, but he did it nonetheless. And now Human Resources had found out about it. (Unbeknownst to him, James had snapped a few pictures of him at the meeting he no longer remembered and left them at HR's doorstep).

"So it appears you frequented an establishment known as 'Smithy's Bar' very recently." Catbert purred viciously. His office door was closed, the trolls vacated.

"So I did." the Boss replied, the severity of the situation failing to hit him. "Is there...something wrong here?"

"Yes." the evil HR Director replied, opening his rulebook. "Policy 359,009-A4, Subsection two, paragraph eight, fourth line. 'Any employee of Path-E-Tech Managment of the rank of Middle Manager or above shall not visit any eating establishment with a less than three star rating."

The boss frowned. "Is that one of our policies?"

"Yes."

"That's a problem, innit?"

Again; "Yes."

The boss pondered this. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

A third time; "Yes." Catbert hopped out of his chair, into the table. The rule book was beneath his paws, its laminated pages not even torn by his claws.

"You are in direct violation of company policy." Catbert growled. "Thus, in accord with company policy, you are hereby placed on probation. A hearing will take place in a month Who is set to take your place in the event you are unable to manage?"

The boss frowned. "Wally is…" Catbert checked the employee database on his phone.

"Wally is being transferred to Siberia next week. Anyone else?"

"James shares Wally's cubicle. Hell, I can barely tell those two apart now. He'd be a good fit for the job."

Catbert rolled his eyes. "Very well." he muttered sarcastically. "James is now officially the chief of the engineering department. God save us all or whatever from his power."

He had no idea how true those words would be.

* * *

 **Wally is actually the emergency 'back-up boss', for those of you who are curious.**

 **See you next time! (Which I have a feeling we're all hoping is significantly sooner than it usually is).**


	7. A Rising Threat

**Another chapter down. Don't expect them to keep coming this often though.**

* * *

Dilbert and Alice stormed down the hallway. After a brief, yet heated argument, they had decided they would first go to their boss. Neither was sure why; they were both aware it would accomplish nothing.

When they arrived at his office, however, they were surprised to find a small crowd.

First and foremost was the boss, who was standing glumly next to a chair, atop which was perched Catbert. The feline HR director was watching the proceedings with a bemused expression. Then there was Carol, who seemed to be barely suppressing a cheer. A couple of HR agents also stood by, not making a sound.

Ted and Loud Howard were carrying a couple boxes full of the boss' stuff out, under the watchful eye of…. _James_.

The young man was wearing his trademark self-satisfied smirk, and was watching the action (or lack thereof).

"What's going on?" Dilbert demanded.

"Your manager is on probation." Catbert replied, his voice seeming more oily than usual. "James is taking his place indefinitely."

The two engineers looked at James. He just winked as though they were in on the joke.

"Ah, Alice, Dilbert, I have a special project I need you two on-advanced supply for the new Gruntmaster. There are some materials out Procurement department refuses to get for us, so I'm putting the two of you on the job."

"Just like a true manager," the Boss moaned.

"What do you need?" Alice snapped. James held up his hands in a defensive gesture, before offering a piece of paper to the two.

"Everything's on this list." he explained. "I expect half of it to be in the lab in two weeks."

"Uh...okay.." Dilbert replied, confused by the simplicity and reasonable nature of the institutions.

"Great!" James said. He turned towards Catbert and the boss. "Sir, I'd like to join you on your walk out the building. I was hoping you could provide me with any instructions to…" They walked away, followed by the HR agents. The crowd dispersed.

Dilbert and Alice remained, though, perplexed by the situation. Gone was the sneering asshole from Wally's cubicle a mere fifteen minutes earlier. He was replaced by...a cross between a confident, respectful young man, and strangely enough, a teenage hipster working as an intern for a Silicon Valley startup.

"What..is happening?" Alice asked. Dilbert just shook his head in response. Wally walked up behind them, not even panicked (Though this was likely due to the coffee he was drinking. While some went to the flask to settle their nerves, Wally chose the mug.).

"Is James now…?"

"Yes."

* * *

 **4 Hours Later**

It was after hours now. All the employees, save the Janitors and night guards, were gone. Even the engineers, whom the PHB would usually have work overtime, were home. One of the first things James had done to curry favor with his new subordinates was to give them an early dismissal, saying a good night's sleep would help get the creative juices flowing.

In truth this was just to buy their loyalty; if they liked him, they would be more likely to serve his ambitions, albeit unknowingly and unwillingly.

He got up from the boss', no his desk, and walked over to the mini-bar inside the private office.

He poured himself a quick shot of whiskey. It wasn't good whiskey, just a special bottle Shoddy Smithy (the bartender from chapters 4 and 5) had given him a year ago.

A knock on the frame of the open door derailed his train of thought. He glanced over at the entrance. Standing there was Asok.

 _"Asok, and *snore*...heroes." the boss muttered . "Wally *snore* rich. Asok..James...portal. Explosion...James ..defeat."_

James mentally shook his head and pushed the memory of the boss' cryptic prediction out of his mind. No time to worry about that, now. He was playing the part of 'Nice Boss.' Or 'Amiable Boss'. Or 'Fun Boss'. He couldn't push the useful little intern away yet.

He smiled warmly. "Hello, Asok! Didn't you go home?"

The Intern stared at him blankly. "This is my home. On my salary, I can only afford to live in my cubicle."

James forced himself to frown. Truthfully, he himself cared little for Asok's financial struggles, but 'Nice Boss James' would have to act like it meant something to him.

"Oh...that's...my apologies. I was not aware."

Asok smiled. "It's fine. You're the first person other than Dilbert to show any pity, and even he was just confused as to how I remained happy all the time."

James smiled. So he was surpassing Dilbert in certain areas now. Excellent.

"Perhaps I can change that. I may only be acting boss, but I perhaps could wave a little influence around the other bosses, give you a bit of rep and have you transferred to the experimental division, or another specialized engineering that could help you."

James knew he could not accomplish that, but offering to would go a long way to establishing a good relationship with Asok.

Asok smiled. "Thank you."

"We can change the world," James said. "Here, engineers at a wealthy corporation, we could change the world. We could open doors people used to say should never be opened, we can do something."

Asok frowned, but did not move. James poured himself another glass. He did not offer anything to Asok.

"You see, the Boss tried to limit the output of you, Dilbert, and the others because he didn't understand what you were doing. But me, I'm an engineer. I'm the one who will fight." He belched suddenly. Asok wrinkled his nose. "Excuse me." James muttered, organizing some papers and slipping them into his briefcase. "Well, I better be heading home. I just have to drop by accounting to check up on a budget. Good night Asok."

"Good night, James."

* * *

It was late when Dilbert got home. He had stopped by Alice's house after work, than a bar to drown his fears of James.

He stumbled up the steps and in the door. The alcohol was inhibiting his movement.

"I-I'm home." he slurred. No one replied. He frowned. "Hellooo?"

Ratbert walked out from behind a bookcase.

"Oh hey, Dilbert." the rodent said.

"...What are...you doing back there?"

"Nothing really. Just practicing."

Dilbert decided not to press further. "W-where's Dogbert?" Ratbert shrugged.

"He left with the Garbageman about an hour ago for a shareholder's meeting. Something about the stock price of the U.S."

Dilbert frowned. "The U.S. doesn't have a stock price."

"That's what I said, but he muttered something about the ignorance of the general public and then they left."

"Did he leave any messages for me?"

Ratbert pointed over his shoulder towards the dining room. "There's some file on the table he said was for you." Dilbert set his briefcase down, and walked into the dining room. Ratbert followed. He sat down at the table, opened the file on James, and began reading. Ratbert slipped up his leg, and perched on his shoulder, also reading the document. Ordinarily, Dilbert would brush him off, but right now he was too engrossed to care.

Dilbert woke up early next morning still in the dining room. His head was resting on James' profile, and Ratbert was long gone. With a flush of embarrassment, he realized he had fallen asleep there last night. He closed the file, stood up, yawned, and stretched, before walking into the kitchen.

Dogbert, Bob the dinosaur, and Ratbert were all up. Bob was pretending to read the paper (the fact that it was upside down gave his ruse away), Ratbert was already eating, and Dogbert was making coffee.

"You slept well." he remarked, not even glancing away from the coffee pot.

"How was-ugh-your meeting?"

Dilbert groaned: his back was out of joint from the angle he had slept at.

"Good, good." Dogbert muttered. "The other shareholders and I discovered the falling price was the result of-how did you-Ratbert! I told you not to tell him!"

The rodent shrugged, half a bagel in his mouth. Dogbert growled, but let the subject drop.

"So, was the file my sources provided useful enough for you? Dogbert asked.

Dilbert shrugged. "It's pretty standard, mostly what I expected. I was surprised to see that he grew up in a bad home in the poorer district."

"Likely where his determination stems from." Dogbert commented.

"All in all, I can't see how this is going to help me."

"Yet you still owe me a pillow, you Ungrateful...uh, Ulysses."

"Nice save."

"Thank you."

* * *

As soon as Wally set foot in the lobby, he could tell something was wrong. He had worked at Path-E-Tech long enough to tell when something was up. Certain changes in the air, however downtrodden the sheep-sorry, other employees seemed, or if Catbert, two security guards, and James were all standing next to a rough pile of his possessions in the lobby.

Wait, what?

"Hello, um...Wally." Catbert purred, fumbling to remember the employee's name.

"Hello." Wally grunted.

"You're being transferred." Catbert explained. "To Siberia."

"I'm sorry, Wally." James muttered. Wally had no illusions at to the fact that he actually wasn't. "It's an order the boss authorized before he left. I have no power over it."

Wally felt dizzy. He tried to focus on the pile of his stuff. His old personal Dell from 2005, his collection of coffee mugs, and the unborn fetus that at one point had been up to take his job. But none of his designs.

Wait, what? (again)

"Hey, where are the designs for all those projects and machines I-"

"Those are company property." Catbert said.

"They are my ideas!" Wally snarled.

"They are intellectual property of the company." Catbert shot back. "As specified in your contract, all ideas thought up by employees while on company premises, at home, or at the

gates of hell are property of the company."

"I didn't sign any stinkin' contract!" Wally retorted.

"I believe you'll find that matters less than you think it does." Catbert replied. "Now, about this transfer…"

Wally faded out. He hardly realized he was being escorted to a rooftop landing pad, stuff carried by James, and shoved into a small aircraft.

The atmospheric-bound vehicle lifted off and Wally glumly looked out the window. Catbert and the security guards had disappeared, but James was still standing on the helipad. _Watching_.

* * *

 **And there we go. This chapter ends on a sorry note, with Wally's reassignment in affect, James fully in control of both the Engineering department and Wally's blueprints, and Dilbert finding little dirt on the upstart.**

 **As for James' strange and ominous monologue to Asok...you'll see what's happening there.**

 **See you all next time.**


End file.
